Robert Mc Graw
Sr Chemist and Group Leader, Aerosol Processes & Observing Systems, Environmental and Climate Sciences Department
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Environmental and Climate Sciences Department
Bldg. 815E, Room 1-50
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
(631) 344-3086
rlm@bnl.gov
McGraw has a long-standing interest in the homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation of supercooled vapors, as mechanisms for gas-to-particle conversion. This interest began during his postdoctoral collaboration with Prof. Howard Reiss at UCLA, and continued at Brookhaven both during the early eighties and since returning to BNL in 1993. Since returning, he has been Principal Investigator for NASA programs investigating nucleation and growth processes of atmospheric aerosols and clouds and for development of MATRIX, an aerosol module currently being used in the NASA/GISS climate model. Major achievements under these programs included development of the quadrature method of moments for simulation of atmospheric aerosol processes; completion of the first rigorous kinetics study of binary nucleation in sulfuric acid-water mixtures; and an investigation into the role of fluctuations, temperature, and detailed balance in nucleation theory. In addition to NASA, he has served as Principal Investigator on a DOE/EERE program, Diesel Engine Emissions Reduction (DEER), along with programs from the NNSA and DOE/SciDAC. His current research focus is on the DOE ARM and ASR climate science programs.
Expertise | Education | Appointments | Publications
Expertise
- Nucleation theory/Atmospheric particle formation
- Aerosol dynamics/Quadrature Method of Moments
- Clouds and precipitation/Microphysics of drizzle formation
- Thermodynamics/Phase Transformation/Deliquescence/Efflorescence
- Statistical physics
Education
- University of Chicago, Ph. D. Physical Chemistry
- University of Chicago, M. S. Chemistry
- Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA., B.S. Chemistry
Professional Appointments
- Division Head, Atmospheric Sciences Division
- Principal Investigator for the Department’s DOE project: Influence of Aerosols and Clouds on Climate and Climate Forcing
- Professor (Adjunct), Department of Chemical Engineering, Yale University
Selected Publications
- McGraw R, Wang J (2021) Surfactants and cloud droplet activation: A systematic extension of Köhler theory based on analysis of droplet stability. The Journal of Chemical Physics 154:024707. doi: 10.1063/5.0031436
- Waters K (2020) NVBL (National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory) Viral Fate and Transport for COVID-19. National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory Symposium: Harnessing the unique strengths of DOE to tackle the biotechnology challenges of COVID-19, October 28, 2020. doi: 10.2172/1718923
- Yang F, McGraw R, Luke EP, Zhang D, Kollias P, Vogelmann AM (2019) A new approach to estimate supersaturation fluctuations in stratocumulus cloud using ground-based remote sensing measurements. doi: 10.5194/amt-2019-222
- McGraw RL, Winkler PM, Wagner PE (2018) A unifying identity for the work of cluster formation in heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation theory. The Journal of Chemical Physics 149:084702. doi: 10.1063/1.5040459
- McGraw RL, Winkler PM, Wagner PE (2017) Temperature Dependence in Heterogeneous Nucleation with Application to the Direct Determination of Cluster Energy on Nearly Molecular Scale. Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-16692-9
- Wood R, Jensen MP, Wang J, Bretherton CS, Burrows SM, Del Genio AD, Fridlind AM, Ghan SJ, Ghate VP, Kollias P, Krueger SK, McGraw RL, Miller MA, Painemal D, Russell LM, Yuter SE, Zuidema P (2016) Planning the Next Decade of Coordinated Research to Better Understand and Simulate Marine Low Clouds. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 97:1699–1702. doi: 10.1175/bams-d-16-0160.1
- Winkler PM, McGraw RL, Bauer PS, Rentenberger C, Wagner PE (2016) Direct determination of three-phase contact line properties on nearly molecular scale. Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/srep26111
- Malila J, McGraw R, Laaksonen A, Lehtinen KEJ (2015) Communication: Kinetics of scavenging of small, nucleating clusters: First nucleation theorem and sum rules. The Journal of Chemical Physics 142:011102. doi: 10.1063/1.4905213
- Yum SS, Wang J, Liu Y, Senum G, Springston S, McGraw R, Yeom JM (2015) Cloud microphysical relationships and their implication on entrainment and mixing mechanism for the stratocumulus clouds measured during the VOCALS project. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 120:5047–5069. doi: 10.1002/2014jd022802
- Yu H, Gannet Hallar A, You Y, Sedlacek A, Springston S, Kanawade VP, Lee Y-N, Wang J, Kuang C, McGraw RL, McCubbin I, Mikkila J, Lee S-H (2014) Sub-3 nm particles observed at the coastal and continental sites in the United States. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 119:860–879. doi: 10.1002/2013jd020841
- Wang J, McGraw RL, Kuang C (2013) Growth of atmospheric nano-particles by heterogeneous nucleation of organic vapor. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 13:6523–6531. doi: 10.5194/acp-13-6523-2013
- Giangrande SE, McGraw R, Lei L (2013) An Application of Linear Programming to Polarimetric Radar Differential Phase Processing. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 30:1716–1729. doi: 10.1175/jtech-d-12-00147.1
- Wang J, McGraw RL, Kuang C (2012) Flux induced growth of atmospheric nano-particles by organic vapors. doi: 10.5194/acpd-12-22813-2012
- McGraw R, Wang J, Kuang C (2012) Kinetics of Heterogeneous Nucleation in Supersaturated Vapor: Fundamental Limits to Neutral Particle Detection Revisited. Aerosol Science and Technology 46:1053–1064. doi: 10.1080/02786826.2012.687844
- Yu H, McGraw R, Lee S-H (2012) Effects of amines on formation of sub-3 nm particles and their subsequent growth. Geophysical Research Letters 39:n/a–n/a. doi: 10.1029/2011gl050099
- Bruzewicz DA, Checco A, Ocko BM, Lewis ER, McGraw RL, Schwartz SE (2011) Reversible uptake of water on NaCl nanoparticles at relative humidity below deliquescence point observed by noncontact environmental atomic force microscopy. The Journal of Chemical Physics 134:044702. doi: 10.1063/1.3524195
- Chang L, Schwartz SE, McGraw R, Lewis ER (2009) Sensitivity of aerosol properties to new particle formation mechanism and to primary emissions in a continental-scale chemical transport model. Journal of Geophysical Research. doi: 10.1029/2008jd011019
- McGraw R, Lewis ER (2009) Deliquescence and efflorescence of small particles. The Journal of Chemical Physics 131:194705. doi: 10.1063/1.3251056
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Environmental and Climate Sciences Department
Bldg. 815E, Room 1-50
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
(631) 344-3086
rlm@bnl.gov
